(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lock for USB ports on personal computers and other electronic devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a locking device for locking and/or blocking a USB port and adjacent ports to prevent use of or removal of a cable from one or more ports.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Generally, universal serial bus (USB) ports provide a serial bus standard for connecting devices to computers. Most modern computers include at least one USB port. USB ports can also be used on video game consoles and personal digital assistants (PDAs), and even devices like televisions and home stereo equipment. They are used to connect peripherals such as mice, keyboards, gamepads, joysticks, scanners, digital cameras, printers, external storage, etc.
In addition, anyone with access to a computer's USB port can plug a portable flash drive or the like into the port and download information from the computer. This can be a security problem.
While others have attempted to solve this problem with locks including a control shaft which, when slid forward (i.e. toward the USB port), forces a claw on the back end of a resilient tab outward into a slot in the USB port, such a claw may become jammed inward with too much force or bent out of shape with repeated use. In addition, such a lock is capable of blocking use of only a single USB port, and does not address the issue of necessary external devices such as keyboards and mice. An example of such a lock is shown, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication no. 2003/0224637 to Ling.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a lock for a USB port with a more reliable securement mechanism, as well as a lock capable of blocking use of more than one port simultaneously and/or locking necessary external devices in place.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.